Academic Anglers Capture Championship Points in FLW Walleye League Tournament on The Detroit River
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Academic Anglers, Charlie Roberts and Carter Tillage, fished the FLW Walleye League Tournament on the Detroit River on April 16, 2005. H-H Services of Jackson, Tennessee and Manufacturers Industrial Group of Lexington, Tennessee sponsor the Academic Anglers.
Practice fishing was held on April 14th and 15th. Both days were very windy and cool however, by Michigan standards, they were great days. The Academic Anglers concentrated their practice on the Trenton Channel on day one and the Rouge River on day two.
Day one, the Academic Anglers picked up on walleye on the channel on a jig tipped with a minnow. There were other “eyes” being caught but hand liners were catching them. The water was muddy and the wind made for tough fishing.
Day two was a day to remember. The Academic Anglers launched at Erie Metro Park and make the twenty-mile run to the Rouge River. After a couple of drifts, the main engine would not start. In the swift current of the Detroit River, you travel quite a distance with no power. We used the trolling motor to stay out of real trouble. After a while, a young fisherman named Sean offered to help us. He let us use his spare battery, which did not solve the problem. He then towed us to safe harbor where we worked on the engine. We found the problem to be a malfunctioning solenoid on the starter. Needless to say, we could not fix the problem on the water. Sean, the young fisherman returned to check on us and then offered to tow to a launch so we could get a ride to our tow vehicle. As we were being towed, we tried starting the main engine again and it started. We were some happy fishermen at that point. We thanked Sean and made the twenty-mile run back to Erie Metro Park. Needless to say, practice was over for that day.
Tournament day, I fished with Capt. Keith Nawrocki of Saginaw, Michigan and Carter fished with Capt. Keith Krych of St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Capt. Nawrocki and I fished the Trenton Channel early. I lost one right at the boat. Later, we hand lined at the Mud Flats. While at the Mud Flats we changed to vertical jigging and I caught a small walleye. At 2:00 PM, we went to another location on the flats and within fifteen minutes, I caught our largest walleye. We weighed in 6lbs-16oz, a small weight but good for 145 championship points.
The Academic anglers next event is the IFA Redfish Tour in Homosassa, Florida on June 4th.
